We Had Our Differences, When You Are 23-24 Years Old, It Happens – Wasim Akram Opens Up On Rivalry With Waqar Younis
Published - 27 Jun 2022, 04:47 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:09 AM
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has opened up on his rivalry with the former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis, asserting that they had some differences.
The pace-bowling duo of Pakistan speedsters Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis was one of the most dominant pace-bowling pairs in the 1990s.
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Meanwhile, there was a rift between Waqar and Wasim and in 2007 the latter had himself said that there was a period of time when he and Waqar were not on talking terms.
“We had our differences. When you are 23-24 years old, it happens. But there was always healthy competition between us. We never used to think bad about each other. We wouldn’t want the other to not pick wickets. In fact, if one used to pick five wickets, the other would say ‘I too would want to get five’.
“And that happened too (against New Zealand). So there always was a healthy rivalry, but our moods would remain on and off. Sometimes it also happened because of teammates. Sometimes they would praise one, other times the other,” Akram said on the ‘To Be Honest’ show by ‘Nashpati Prime’.
We lost the Delhi Test and Wasim Akram got into an argument with Waqar – Shoaib Akhtar
Former Pakistan express pacer Shoaib Akhtar, in his biography ‘Controversially Yours’, stated that things reached the boiling point between Wasim and Waqar in 1999 after Pakistan had lost the Delhi Test.
“We lost the Delhi Test and Wasim got into an argument with Waqar. It got so bad that a rumour started doing the rounds that Waqar was to be sent back home,” Akhtar had written.
“But the entire squad left for Kolkata for the first Test of the Championship. Inside the dressing room, things got uglier. I do not remember it ever being as tense as it was then. The two seniors were at war and we were a young and fresh team. Everyone was stressed out,” Akhtar had written.
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